The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Monday urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit seeking to sack its current national leadership headed by former Senate President, David Mark, and ex-Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola.
The party, through its counsel, Shuaibu Aruwa (SAN), filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter.
Aruwa argued that the case, instituted by a former ADC Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Gombe, was frivolous, filed in bad faith, and amounted to an abuse of judicial process.
According to him, the subject of the suit concerned the internal affairs of a registered political party and was therefore non-justiciable.
“We submit respectfully that the courts in Nigeria, including the apex court, have consistently held that matters relating to the leadership of political parties are off the jurisdiction of our courts,” Aruwa stated in court documents.
The dispute arose after Gombe, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, asked the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Mark as national chairman and Aregbesola as national secretary of the ADC.
He also sought an injunction to prevent them from parading themselves as party leaders pending the hearing of his substantive motion.
Earlier, on September 4, Justice Emeka Nwite refused to grant Gombe’s ex parte prayers and instead directed that all the defendants be put on notice.
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The case was adjourned to September 15 for the defendants to show cause.
Listed as defendants in the suit are the ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, INEC, and ADC’s immediate past Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu.
When the case was called on Monday, only the ADC and INEC were represented in court, while Mark, Aregbesola, and Nwosu were neither present nor represented by counsel.
The plaintiff’s counsel, Michael Agber, told the court that the trio had been served through the ADC.
But Aruwa, representing the ADC, objected, arguing that the law required personal service unless the court expressly permitted joint service through the party.
Justice Nwite upheld the objection, ruling that service must be effected personally on each of the defendants.
He directed Agber to properly serve the parties and adjourned the matter to September 30, 2025, for hearing.
INEC’s counsel, Kingsley Magbuin, confirmed receipt of the originating summons but noted that the commission had yet to be served with the motion on notice.
The court ordered that he be served in open court.
